Researcher finds ‘kill switch’ for cyberattack ransomeware

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HONG KONG, May 13, 2017 (BSS/AFP) – A cybersecurity researcher appears to have discovered a “kill switch” that can prevent the spread of the WannaCry ransomware — for now — that has caused the cyberattacks wreaking havoc globally, they told AFP Saturday.

The researcher, tweeting as @MalwareTechBlog, said the discovery was accidental, but that registering a domain name used by the malware stops it from spreading.

“Essentially they relied on a domain not being registered and by registering it, we stopped their malware spreading,” @MalwareTechBlog told AFP in a private message on Twitter.

The researcher warned however that people “need to update their systems ASAP” to avoid attack.